A few days before #HolocaustMemorialDay let us remember that in the build up to the #Holocaust, many Jewish people were frantically trying to escape Hitler's grasp.

One famous example is the SS St. Louis, a ship that carried 937 people out of Europe - but this proved too many - as nation after nation denied them entry. Most were returned to Europe, and tragically, many of those perished in the Holocaust.

Everyone knew the Jews were scrambling and nobody wanted them. The British often spoke of it - In 1938 Colonel Wedgwood told the UK Parliament to 'throw open the doors' of Palestine before the Jews 'were killed'. david-collier.com/speech-of-colo…

But the British didn't 'open the doors'. During the 1930s the British closed them. The more Jews that ran towards them- the tighter the seal became. In May 1939- with the infamous White Paper - the British shut those doors permanently.

The Mandate was designed to create a safe haven for Jews and awarded to the British. Just as Jewish people needed the protection the Mandate promised the most, the British betrayed them completely. The Jews were trapped in Europe.

From 1917-1948, if there is one thing the UK should apologise for, it is the decision to slam the door of British Palestine shut, in the face of those who needed it the most. Almost every Jew stuck in Germany in Sep 1939 - perished. And the millions beyond Germany?

So on Sunday, spare a thought for those people. We will never know how many could have escaped. Stopped from leaving by us, not the Germans. They should have got out - their descendants should have been born in #Israel. Instead we remember them as victims of the #Holocaust

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During these days 28 years ago, I was sitting in a room with a gas mask on. I was alone in Israel & couldn't yet speak Hebrew. I had prepared the 'sealed room' according to instructions, and all windows & doors were covered in plastic, held in place with overpriced masking tape

Those first nights were scary. There was fear Saddam would launch a chemical attack. The Skuds were launched, the patriots fired up to meet them. There were explosions in the sky and the house shook at every one. I didn't understand a word of the radio updates.

There was a silent radio channel, that you tuned in to at night. It would sound the siren if needed & there was but a short time to put that gas mask on. I'll never forget the feeling, after the explosions, waiting to find out if another vile despot had chosen to gas some Jews

What is institutionalised antisemitism?
When @jeremycorbyn became leader of @uklabour, many people joined the party. Most of them were decent voters that the party was happy to welcome back. Some were not. In 2015 and 2016 Labour digested some real 'baddies'.

People began to complain. To point out that because of Corbyn's role in anti-Israel activism, some people were far more interested in waving a Palestinian flag, than funding the NHS or new house builds. Many of those people held deeply antisemitic views.

That was the crossroads. Labour needed to clean house but it couldn't. Corbyn's world vision needed protecting. So people began to say that talk of antisemitism was all about stifling criticism of Israel. These simple messages spread quickly. But they also spread antisemitism

What's with @uklabour leader @jeremycorbyn & rabid antisemitic women? Corbyn was all over Palestine Live founder Elleanne Green's timeline + liked or commented on around thirty of her posts. Now there is Anna Elliott too. Exactly like Elleanne, Anna joined Labour just for Corbyn.

Anna is hard-core. Difficult to believe she can still be a member. She pushes Israel as ISIS & likes Gilad Atzmon. She shares David Duke, David Icke, Paul Eisen & articles from ultra racist site PoliticalVelCraft. She's living evidence that 'far-right' and 'far-left' hold hands.

Just like with Elleanne Green (who shared everything from far-left Conspiracy to far-right Nazi material), Jeremy Corbyn didn't accidentally stumble on *one* of Anna's posts, but rather seemed to have Anna's timeline set to 'speed-dial'.

That not only did we survive, but that from the graveyards of Europe and the depths of despair, we went on to re-establish the Jewish state, in our ancestral homeland, Israel. #HolocaustMemorialDay#HMD2019
3/

Holocaust denial in the Labour Party? John Pocock, who says he's a @UKLabour member in Rossendale & Darwen, reckons that the only #antisemitism in the party comes from its Jewish members. /1

He wrote that in response to one of those 'show me the evidence' posts, so popular last summer, where Labour members express their puzzlement or cynicism about the motives of those raising concerns about antisemitism in the party. /2

Most comments followed the usual pattern of bewilderment, denialism and conspiracy theories - orchestrated claptrap, criticising Israel isn't antisemitic, etc. John Pocock's contribution seemed to go further but still earned seven 'likes', including from the original poster. /3

King continued, made the rounds of local TV, calling comparisons with the #TreeOfLife shooter "insane, denying @washingtonpost reporting about collaborating with anti semitic websites, and defending the anti-Semitic FPO.

THREAD.

As the more complex aspects of the story break into TV especially, the mounting, well-documented evidence is presented as one side, and King's lies, avoidance, and anger is the other, with little clarity or context for audiences who haven't been reading the @washingtonpost.

I understand the limitations of TV, and I think most journalists are doing a great job with a very crowded election season and a lot of news to cover.

But this story is bigger than the election and it's important that @SteveKingIA's lies are not propagated unchallenged.

By @TimothyDSnyder
THREAD ✔
On February 27, 1933 the German Parliament building burned, Adolf #Hitler rejoiced, and the #Nazi era began.1/

#Hitler, who had just been named head of a #government that was legally formed after the democratic #elections of the previous November, seized the opportunity to change the system. “There will be no mercy now,” he exulted. “Anyone standing in our way will be cut down.”
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The next day, at Hitler’s advice and urging, the #German#president issued a decree “for the protection of the people and the state.”
3/

On #HolocaustMemorialDay remember the 11 million people killed by the Nazis in camps due to hatred and bigotry. 6 million Jews were murdered as well as 5 million disabled people, political dissidents, and LGBT people. Let's also remember how this bigotry started & the US role /1

The US ignored many warning signs of anti-Semitism and Fascism in Germany and refused help to Jewish refugees. Many in the US, Europe, and even Germany justified Hitler's rise w/ economic worries and ignored the anti-Semitism and fascism #HolocaustMemorialDay /2

Hitler and the Nazi party capitalized on anti-Semitism as a scapegoat for the interwar economic depression. Their answer was extreme nationalism and bigotry, and fascism #HolocaustMemorialDay /3

2. Take the Rothschilds, the bloodline formerly known, among other names, as the Bauers, one of the most notorious black occult bloodlines of Middle Ages Germany. It became known as Rothschild (red-shield or rotes-schild in German)

3. in the 18th century a financial dynasty was founded in Frankfurt by Mayer Amschel Rothschild working in league with the Illuminati House of Hesse and others.

They took their name from the red shield or hexagram/Star of David atop of their house in Frankfurt. #Rothschilds